Another difficult defeat for Holy Cross men

Holy Cross’ best shooting performance of the season wasn’t enough to beat Lafayette Wednesday night. The Crusaders sank a sizzling 67 percent of their attempts from the field and led by as many as 13 points in the second half, but Lafayette senior guard Tony Johnson buried the winning 3-pointer with 3.5 seconds left and the Leopards swept the regular-season series from HC with a 79-76 victory at the Hart Center.

Holy Cross’ best shooting performance of the season wasn’t enough to beat Lafayette Wednesday night.

The Crusaders sank a sizzling 67 percent of their attempts from the field and led by as many as 13 points in the second half, but Lafayette senior guard Tony Johnson buried the winning 3-pointer with 3.5 seconds left and the Leopards swept the regular-season series from HC with a 79-76 victory at the Hart Center.

In a wild finish, Holy Cross turned the ball over with two seconds on the clock when freshman guard Cullen Hamilton stepped out of bounds before putting up the potential tying 3 from the corner. After play was halted because of an issue with the clock, Lafayette sophomore Seth Hinrichs’ inbounds pass hit the speaker on the ceiling, giving the ball to HC, but the Crusaders gave it back when senior Dee Goens was called for a five-second violation trying to get it inbounds.

It was the second straight crushing defeat for Holy Cross (11-15, 3-8), which was coming off an overtime loss at American.

Eric Obeysekere’s dunk gave Holy Cross a 60-47 lead with 14:19 left, but the Leopards outscored HC, 32-16, the rest of the way and made 54 percent of their shots in the second half. The Crusaders committed 20 turnovers and were just 9 of 15 from the line. Junior forward Dave Dudzinski uncharacteristically missed a pair with 2:18 left when HC was clinging to a 74-70 lead.

“We plug up one hole and another one busts open,” Holy Cross coach Milan Brown said. “We have our best shooting performance of the year, and we turn it over 20 times and miss free throws. We have to find a way to make those winning plays. It’s tough, back-to-back games you miss on a game-winning shot.”

Lafayette (14-14, 7-4) has won three straight against Holy Cross.

Brown said he expected Johnson would take the go-ahead shot. He sank the winner with 4.5 seconds left in Lafayette’s 63-62 victory over first-place Bucknell last Saturday.

“We wanted to make sure we got into the lane because that’s what he does well,” Brown said. “I thought we shrunk the paint pretty well, but he pulled up and made the game-winning shot.”

Johnson scored a game-high 20 points on 8-for-12 shooting and also came up with a key steal when a double-teamed Dudzinzki tried to pass the ball out from under the HC basket with 39 seconds left.

HC senior Jordan Stevens got back in time to block a layup attempt by senior Levi Giese, but Johnson soon proceeded with his latest dramatics.

Lafayette coach Fran O’Hanlon said he wanted the ball in Johnson’s hands at the end.

“As the leader, that’s supposed to be my responsibility to take the shot at the end,” Johnson said. “The time got down to 5 (seconds) and I knew I had to go. I fired it up there and fortunately it went in.”

Lafayette, which never led until Johnson hit the winner, tied the score at 67-67 on a Zach Rufer free throw with 5:50 left. Burrell buried a 3 and the Crusaders built their lead back to six with 1:38 left.

“We dodged a bullet,” O’Hanlon said. “I’m not sure we played the best, but we made some shots and got back in it and I’m proud of the guys and the way they handled it.”

Burrell led Holy Cross with 19 points on 8-for-11 shooting. Hamilton, who started 5 for 5 from the field, finished 6 for 8 for a career-high 18 points. The Crusaders shot an amazing 70 percent in the first half.

“We expected to come out and shoot it well,” Burrell said, “but it really doesn’t matter if we don’t do things on the opposite end and take care of the ball. It did nothing for us tonight.”

Dudzinski, HC’s leading scorer and most consistent player this season, had an off night with 10 points on 3-for-8 shooting. He scored just one point in the first half and committed three turnovers.

HC sophomore forward Malcolm Miller suffered a left shoulder injury in the first half and spent the second half on the bench wearing a sling.

CDL A DELIVERY DRIVERS Home Every Night! Needed for our Worcester Depot! Drive local - No more spending valuable nights away from your family! As a Direct Store Delivery Representative YOU have the opportunity to make a difference with our customers! Provide excellent customer service; interact in a positive manner with our customers; deliver our products to local stores. Be home every night! Work for a Company that has been around for over 80 years! Minimum of 3 months driving experience with CDL A/B; GED or HS diploma required; Must be able to drive a standard transmission. EEO/Veteran/Disability Growing Strong Since1933!